Espionage

A WWII spy mission to pinpoint a double agent soon turns complicated, and the success of D-day hangs in the balance. Espionage is a novel of deception, betrayal, love, and redemption.

France, 1944: Nobody expects Peter Eddy to survive his first commando mission—to retrieve a code book stolen by the Nazis—so when he does come back alive, his success is rewarded with an even more daunting assignment. Partnered with French Resistance leader Jacques Olivier, Eddy must identify which of three Allied contacts in Calais is a double agent and use the traitor to help implement a strategic Allied diversion that might win the war. Eddy and Olivier secretly cross the English Channel to confront their suspects one at a time, but what appears to be a clean assignment soon turns disastrous, and a shocking betrayal leaves Eddy in the grip of the Gestapo. With the courageous aid of Olivier and his sister, Genevieve, Eddy evades his captors with a dangerous escape plan. But as the Allied invasion approaches, treachery in the least likely places leads to fresh graves in the bloodied European soil—and only the power of loyalty and love can transform tragic endings into new beginnings.

Available in paperback, audiobook (narrated by Jason Tatom), and ebook.

What Others are Saying about Espionage:

Espionage is action-packed from page one and keeps this momentum throughout the entire book. Other elements like mystery, romance and suspense are woven throughout the book and add a layer of depth and credibility to the story. Another great aspect of the novel is the author’s attention to historic detail. Espionage is a great book that will entertain a wide audience of readers.
–The Deseret News

This is a great story from many perspectives. Though it is clearly historical, it is more than that. There are some satisfying, non-preachy lessons on forgiveness, listening to the Spirit, and the universal potential for goodness or evil in all men. There’s a gradual awareness of the distinction between revenge and repentance. There’s heart-stopping danger and action. An exploration of different types of love weaves its way through the horror of war. Though this story is plot driven and action oriented, satisfactory character development occurs as well. Both Jacques and Peter mature and their characters grow in greater self-awareness, a higher understanding of God, more compassion for others, and confidence in their ability to accomplish the seemingly impossible.
–Meridian Magazine

I can think of nothing negative to say about this book. I loved it! I was hooked from the first chapter and the story remained just as intense throughout. What an amazing book and even more impressive that this was Sowards debut novel. Love it!
–Linda, Books For Me Blog

Thanks! I think they were debating the cover until the book went to press, but yes, this is the one they decided on. (Contacts were around during WWII, they just weren’t very common or very comfortable–still, I’m sure someone like Jacques could get a colored pair.)

Love the cover…love the book summary…can’t wait to read the book…again! I know (because you told me) you’ve made many changes since I read it last so it will be like reading a new book, but with characters I’ve come to know and love already. I am so happy for you and so proud of you. You did it! Way to go after your dreams. I’m excited to read many more books to come.

Thank you so much Teresa (for the post and for the wonderful test read a couple years ago). I can’t take credit for the cover or the summary–those are the work of my wonderful publishing house. I hope you’ll love the finished product!

I am SO excited to get this book! Since going to Europe and seeing many WWII sights, I have a whole new appreciation for history. Hopefully it will be here by February 21 and you can sign mine!! CONGRATS!

I ….can…..not….wait! This is absolutley GRAND! You are amazing Amanda and so will the book be. I’m excited to do a bit of name dropping. But most of all I’m excited to read this book! I’m remembering the nights you opted to read or write instead of other activities……looks like its payback time!!!! Congrats! I can’t wait to stand in line to get an autographed copy!

Exciting!! No, not that you have a book out (well that too) but the first chapter sample, I was hooked by the end of the second page!! I get so mad when I am watching a good show on TV and the words “To be continued” . . . come up. That’s just how I felt when the chapter was over and there was no more. Fantastic Amanda! I can’t wait to get the book and continue the adventure. It’s very well done, very interesting reading. Congratulations on your publication and release!

Hey, thanks Heidi! Good luck with the Countdown to Summer contests! I hope you win some great prizes! And I’m guessing you’re a writer if you’re interested in Bickman’s books, so good luck with that too.

My copy has made its way to my bookshelves & has a place of honor near Jack Higgins & Alistair MacLean. You should feel proud about this for a few reasons, not the least of which is that only my favorite books make it near those authors’ works.

I just finished your book and I thought it was FANTASTIC! I went to Montana for the week, and knew I would be able to start the story there. It was midnight and I had about 60 more pages to go before I finished the book . . . I couldn’t put it down! I had to find out what happened to “Lt. Peter Eddy”! I kept reading until I finished, then thought about it all night long! Amanda, I am in awe of you! This is such an involved storyline, with great character depth. I absolutely LOVED it! Congratulations, I can hardly wait for “Part 2”!

You got me at the word “Calais”.In 1945, my father was in Marseilles but his brother was getting married in Calais and his new sister-in-law, I’ve been told, helped the resistance. The following is my father’s recorded memory of the events. I haven’t posted this yet, or the letters from my father, his brother and my grandfather, each telling the story from a different perspective.

“Dan and I were both in France in 1945. I had been corresponding with Dan and I knew he was going to be married on a particular day in mid-summer. I talked my Capt. into a three-day pass but it was limited to Paris. That was as far as I should go. So I went to Paris and checked into the hotel. I left my duffel bag there and put a little sack in my pocket with my toothbrush and that’s about it I guess, maybe a call, to. I decided to try to get to Calais, where Dan was to be married. I didn’t know how far it was maybe 50 or 60 miles from Paris, North upon the coast. I got a ticket on a train and the train went about five or 6 mi./h or about 10 or 15 min., then it stopped. It stood there for a long, long time, then it went little further and it stopped again. I was noticing that cars kept going by so I got off the train and hitchhiked. I beat the train by a day. I didn’t have much trouble hitchhiking. An English soldier came along on a motorbike and asked me where I wanted to go. I told him Calais. He said “That’s not far. I’ll take you up there.” So that’s how I made the last two thirds of the trip to Calais. I had no trouble finding the house; it was Chiche’s mother and father’s house, he was a pharmacist. It was fairly late in the afternoon when I got there. I stayed the night and the wedding was the next day. As I recall, they were expecting me when I got there. The third day my pass was up but I didn’t hurry to get back. I went back to Paris on the train, and this time, it went pretty fast. I grabbed all of my equipment out of the hospitality hotel and checked out. I took the usual bus to go from Paris to Marseille, but by this time, I was one day over my pass. When I got back to camp there was nothing there, just damaged grass and fields. Everything was gone! I finally found an officer who was walking around and asked him what had happened. He said that everybody had shipped out, Saturday. I told him my name any he said “Oh, yeah,. They tried to get a hold of you but the Hotel said they couldn’t find you.” So he told me where to go and what to do. I went to the location he told me about and they knew all about me. There was another fellow there, Bob Mark. I was with the3019th and he was with the3020th. He had been left behind to gather all the equipment. I said “That’s what I’m supposed to do.” So Bob and I got together and found the equipment, we both belonged to the hundred 49th Battalion. We got all the equipment rounded up, got it to the dock and finally were able to get a ship that would take it to Okinawa. I think it took us close to a week to get everything ready and get aboard. We started out but when we were about 200 miles from the Panama Canal, the word on the PA system was that the US had dropped a bomb on Hiroshima. We got the message in the afternoon, and the next morning the ship turned around, went back out to the Atlantic and up the coast to New York.”

I’m thrilled that you are now following my blog and you’ll read the whole story when I get to that point in my letters.

Thank you so much for posting that story, Judy. I guess after V-E Day the army wasn’t as strict about being late after leave?
I’m excited to read more of your family’s letters on your blog. I think the “greatest generation” lived through an amazing time and have given us so many examples of courage, sacrifice, and goodness.

I just finished reading Chapter 1 and can’t wait for the rest of the story. I really enjoyed the fact that each time Peter got through a crisis, he was almost immediately into another one. I think it’s going to be a great read.

Oh, Amanda, I’m so behind the times! I read Espionage when it first came out and LOVED it! It was so exciting to read your words. I could hear your voice as I read. Wonderful! I didn’t know you had another book coming also. I am so excited to read this one as well. Just a couple more months!

Amanda, just finished “Espionage”. Enjoyed it. I had a question about your research. I was wondering if you had read at all from the “Mammoth Book of Special Forces” edited by Jon E. Lewis? In this book there is a section about interrogation written by Bruce Marshall. The descriptions of your story sounded very familiar to those I had read from this book, so I wanted to ask.

Hi Sean,
Thank you for stopping by my website. I’m glad you enjoyed “Espionage!” I haven’t read “The Mammoth Book of Special Forces,” but I looked it up on Amazon–the kindle edition is under $5, so I think I’ll add it to my (very-long) to-read list. Most of the water interrogation I read about in a book called “In the Shadows of War: An American Pilot’s Odyssey Through Occupied France and the Camps of Nazi Germany,” by Thomas Childers. In addition to the American pilot, the book also followed several people working with the French Resistance, and some of them didn’t survive the war. Other aspects I picked up from multiple books (I have a list, if you’re interested, but I read or skimmed the books years ago, so I honestly don’t remember which books talked about which interrogation techniques). I hope that if the scenes felt accurate to you, it means I did a decent job on the research!
Best wishes,
Amanda

Sean, I recently read the Bruce Marshall chapter in the “Mammoth Book of Special Forces.” I am so impressed with Yeo-Thomas–what an amazing man! I read a little about him in a book called “Between Silk and Cyanide” last November/December and wanted to know the full story, so I also picked up “The White Rabbit,” by Bruce Marshall. If you like nonfiction, “The White Rabbit” is a good one. It includes Yeo-Thomas’s interrogation and torture, but also his work in France before his capture and his survival in several prisons and concentration camps after the Gestapo was finished with him.